The Journey of the Asian Forensic Sciences Network (AFSN) through Fifteen Years.

The Asian Forensic Sciences Network was formed in 2008 by a small group of six forensic institutes from six countries in Asia, with the vision to create a common platform for scientists in the region to come together to advance forensic science, raise quality standards, and foster collaboration. Since its inception, the network has experienced remarkable growth, now comprising 70 member institutes from 18 countries across Asia. An Annual Meeting & Symposium, hosted by a member institute each year, serves as a cornerstone event for the network. In addition, the network runs nine technical workgroups covering areas in Crime Scene Investigation, Digital Forensics, DNA, Fingerprint, Forensic Medicine, Illicit Drugs, Questioned Document, Toxicology, and Trace Evidence, alongside a dedicated Quality Assurance and Standards Committee. These workgroups and committee work in tandem with the AFSN Board to formulate strategies aligned with the network's core objectives. This paper chronicles AFSN's journey over the past fifteen years, highlighting the pivotal role of the Board and the Workgroups, as well as the dedicated passion and unwavering commitment of the members in shaping the network through numerous activities.

Stability studies of ALD-52 and its homologue 1P-LSD.

With the emergence of new psychoactive substances (NPSs) over the years, the substances detected on stamps (also known as blotter papers) have also evolved from the traditional drug-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) to the multiple variants of lysergamides such as ALD-52 and 1P-LSD. The analysis of such blotter papers is usually done by solvent extraction followed by identification using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). This study has shown that hydrolysis to form LSD was observed in GC-MS analysis when ALD-52 was extracted with methanol. The extraction of ALD-52 using other solvents such as acetonitrile, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, ethyl acetate, and acetone, followed by GC-MS analysis, was investigated. It is shown that alcoholic solvents such as methanol and ethanol will result in the conversion of ALD-52 to LSD during GC-MS analysis, whereas the sterically hindered isopropyl alcohol will prevent this conversion. Investigation also shows that the hydrolysis of ALD-52 to LSD occurs at the GC injector port. It was also observed that the degree of hydrolysis was more pronounced at a lower concentration (0.1 mg/mL). The study was extended to a close analog-1P-LSD, and the results showed that 1P-LSD similarly hydrolyzes to LSD. However, 1P-LSD was observed to be more stable than ALD-52 due to steric hindrance because of the propanoyl group.

Heroin in Malaysia and Singapore.

Clandestine heroin laboratories have been a feature of the Malaysian illicit drug scene since soon after the abuse of heroin emerged in 1972. The first few clandestine heroin laboratories which synthesised heroin via the acetylation of imported morphine were uncovered in 1973 and 1977. By the mid-1980s, this type of laboratory was replaced by heroin-cutting laboratories whereby imported high-grade heroin was cut to street heroin. This was to meet the rising demand for the drug owing to the rapid escalation of the number of drug users. Over the years, the most significant change in the composition of the street heroin is the decrease in its purity from 30%-50% to 3%-5%. Caffeine has remained the major adulterant and chloroquine is detected in virtually all recent seizures.

Differentiation and identification of 5F-PB-22 and its isomers.

Quinolin-8-yl 1-(5-fluoropentyl)-1H-indole-3-carboxylate (5-Fluoro-PB-22 or 5F-PB-22; QUPIC N-(5-fluoropentyl) analog), is a synthetic cannabinoid which mimics the effects of cannabis. Several countries have reported numerous detections of this compound and its abuse has led to adverse effects including death. The aim of this study was to separate and identify the fluoropentyl positional isomers of fluoro-PB-22 using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, solid deposition gas chromatography-infrared detection spectroscopy and 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Data acquired from these multiple techniques can assist forensic laboratories lacking the reference drug standard(s) to identify the specific isomer of fluoro-PB-22 in seized material.

Detection of phenazepam in illicitly manufactured Erimin 5 tablets.

A validated ultra-high-performance liquid chromatographic (UHPLC) method was used to determine the phenazepam dosage in clandestinely produced Erimin 5 tablets. Tablets from five different seizures submitted to the laboratory in 2013 were found to have a dosage of about 2.4 milligrams. The measurement uncertainty of the assay was estimated to be 3.2 % (relative) at a coverage factor of k=2. As an adjunct study the dyes in the tablets from several seizures were determined by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) for future comparative studies.

Rat L6 myotubes as an in vitro model system to study GLUT4-dependent glucose uptake stimulated by inositol derivatives.

Some of inositol derivatives have been reported to help the action of insulin stimulating glucose uptake in skeletal muscle cells. Rat L6 myotubes were employed in an attempt to develop an in vitro model system for investigation of the possible insulin-like effect of eight inositol derivatives, namely allo-inositol, D: -chiro-inositol L: -chiro-inositol, epi-inositol, muco-inositol, myo-inositol, scyllo-inositol and D: -pinitol. At a higher concentration of 1 mM seven inositol derivatives other than myo-inositol were able to stimulate glucose uptake, while at 0.1 mM only D: -chiro-inositol, L: -chiro-inositol, epi-inositol and muco-inositol could induce glucose uptake, indicating their significant insulin-mimetic activity. Immunoblot analyses revealed that at least D: -chiro-inositol, L: -chiro-inositol, epi-inositol, muco-inositol and D: -pinitol were able to induce translocation of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) to plasma membrane not only in L6 myotubes but also in skeletal muscles of rats ex vivo. These results demonstrated that L6 myotubes appeared efficient as an in vitro system to identify inositol derivatives exerting an insulin-like effect on muscle cells depending on the induced translocation of GLUT4.